


Yogstuck: Paradoxifying Reality

by CyberPhoenix



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Multi, and sburb, and thats it, first fic, kind of homestuck but not really, like its got a cat from hs, literally just yogs playing Sburb, will eventually have violence and death because of the fact that it is sburb, yogstuck AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-22 04:23:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3714889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberPhoenix/pseuds/CyberPhoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yogstuck AU<br/>At the time, it had seemed like a good idea. Play a game with everyone, get over any differences that could cause wars later on, have fun. No one expected what they got.</p><p>"C'mon, it'll be fun! It's just a computer game!"<br/>"What's it called?"<br/>"Sburb."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Server Shenanigans + 0. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First fic, hooray!
> 
> This whole series of events takes place before the destruction of Lalna's castle, as well as before the Hat-Flux war, as kind of explained in the prologue. I decided against posting the "0th" chapter separately because, as you can see, it's really short. I didn't feel it could stand alone as a whole chapter.
> 
> As for the changing point of view, I'll be keeping it in second person for quite a while.

This is a story. Pretty obvious, I know, but this isn't your regular run-of-the-day story. This is a story about a group of people, familiar yet vastly different from the versions you know, and how they end the world.  
  
This is the story of Yogstuck. There are many others like it, many sessions reaching completion or dying in the attempt. But this one is unlike all others, as all others are unlike each other and it.  
  
It had been Zoeya's idea at first. She had found the game while searching the far reaches of the Internet, or as she called it, Mushnet. The description put it as a sort of multiplayer life-sim, mixed with RPG qualities. Finding it only needed two players, but could be played with virtually any amount, she proceeded to contact everyone she knew, asking them to join. Most agreed, and two, through strange twistings of reality, already owned a copy each. I was one of them. Another, the cat-loving poolman, knew of the game, and supposedly had heard a lot about it despite never having played before.  
That day marked the end of our world and the beginning of a new one. That was, if we succeeded.  
  
But before we get to that, I should clear some things up. I am Nanosounds. Former apprentice to Sjin, current partner to Lalna, I then resided in Panda Labs, while he was trying to quarantine and eventually fix his old castle. Panda Labs was still a little community of it's own, with all the animals cluttering the forest area. Things up until the critical point were going very well, and, should I say, very mundane in comparison to what we would soon have to deal with.

In some instances of our universe, things were different. I heard tale of one instance where we never played the game, but rather destroyed his old castle and decided to go to war. Me and Lalna versus the trio of Hat Films. Sometimes I long for a time when the game wasn't to anyone's knowledge.  
Where we never played, and never would.

  
We never knew Sburb would be a nightmare, especially one we couldn't even try to wake from.  
But we were young, and still mortal back then. Now, we are anything but.

 

* * *

****

_Some time in the past, but not much..._  
  
**Loading Mushnet Observations...**  
**Connection established. Relaying video feed.**  
**2 living beings detected. Scan? Y/N**  
  
**Scanning "Being 1"...**  
  
**Subject Name: Zoeya Proasheck**  
**Species: Human**  
**Description: Mushroom lover, pacifist (for the most part), and apprentice/partner to the mage Rythian, Zoey is a friendly, outgoing human who enjoys a multitude of hobbies, some of which include magic, science, and of course, talking to her mushrooms. She currently lives in a small house outside of the town of Cabertown, formerly known as Sick Bay.**  
  
**Scanning "Being 2"...**  
  
**Subject Name: Teepasaurus Rex**  
**Species: Dinosaur**  
**Description: A mute sniper steampunk dinosaur. Nuff said.**  
**Friend and guardian to Zoeya Proasheck.**  
  
**Internet communications detected. Track? Y/N**  
**Tracking...**  
**Relaying messages...**  
  
\--roboticEmber began pestering chaoticApprentice at 15:18--

  
[RE]: hey kim!  
[CA]:  >Hey Zoeya, what's up?<  
[RE]: youve heard of sburb, right?  
[CA]: >Yeah, you mentioned wanting me to be your server player?<  
[RE]: mmhm, well the deal is we have to get everyone playing this. and i mean EVERYONE. even people-things like hat films.  
[CA]: >While I'm not partial to it, if they already are joined into our session, then I suppose I'll have to deal. Did you download the client copy already?<  
[RE]: yep! im starting it up right now!  
[CA]: >Okay, I'm at the start-up screen for the server file. I'll see what I can do.<  
[CA]: >That's weird, it's asking for coordinates.<  
[RE]: maybe it has to do with some weird programming shizzle... put in mine and see what happens!  
[CA]: >Alright...<  
[CA]: >Woah. This is cool!<  
[RE]: what happened?  
[CA]: >I can see your house, and you inside it!<  
[RE]: do you see me waving  
[RE]: im waving at the wall  
[RE]: teep's staring at me like im crazy  
[RE]: wait what was that  
[RE]: wh  
[RE]: why is my window suddenly broken  
[CA]: >Whoops.<  
  
\--chaoticApprentice ceased pestering roboticEmber at 15:36--  
  
**Connection lost. Relaying video feed.**  
  
  
You are now Zoeya Proasheck. Apprentice to the mage Rythian, lover of mushrooms, lover of all beings actually, and super-cool person in general. You've just downloaded Sburb, and Nano's thrown a flowerpot out your window. Great.  
  
You cross over to the broken window, avoiding the many shards of glass that scatter the floor. Teep stares at you from behind the couch, where he had hid when the flowerpot started hovering mysteriously in the air. You sigh, confused. A loud thump from the left makes you turn, and you see that where there once was a nice, easy walkway out of your room, is now occupied by a large cylinder-like machine. You flip on your scouter, and load up a very complicated thought-oriented Pesterchum. Concentrating hard to make your thoughts into words, you ask Nano what exactly this weird thing is. She replies with a meaningless "It's a cruxtruder." Whatever that is.  
  
You walk over and examine the machine, when suddenly Teep gives as much of a yell as a mute dinosaur can, accomplished by a frantic waving of his tiny arms, and you see the couch slamming into the wall with enough force to actually break the wall open, letting your couch fly over the balcony. You are about to question Nano if her plan is to throw all of your belongings out into the world, when she messages you "I'm going to look up a walkthrough for this so I don't accidentally throw out anything more." Putting your faith in her ability to learn from her mistakes, you get down to business and examine the "cruxtruder". You try turning a wheel on the side, but see whatever it is supposed to do being blocked by the lid. You attempt to force it open, first by hanging from the wheel so it'll turn more, second by trying to pry off the lid with a crowbar that just so happened to be conveniently there, both to no success. Frustrated, you punch the side of the cylinder with your robotic arm, and with a loud "pop", the lid drops off.  
  
A orange cylinder of some strange material is propelled out, denting your ceiling, and a strange reddish sphere of light follows it out of the hollow machine, hovering in midair. You inspect it warily, confused as to what it could be. You hear Teep load his gun behind you, and motion for him to stand down. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem too dangerous. Keeping an air of caution, you do what any sensible person would when faced with something strange and new. You throw a mushroom at it. A bright flash lights up the room, blinding you with the harsh light. As it dims, you see the sphere has morphed itself into a mushroom-ish shape. Before you can do anything else, however, you are interrupted by ~~A WILD CHARACTER SELECT SCREEN~~ Nano pestering you frantically. She is appalled at the chaos you've caused in the short time she was away, but at least knows what the weird mush-ghost thing is. She tells you it's a kernelsprite, and supposedly what you just did was called "prototyping the sprite".

  
**Relaying messages...**  
  
\--chaoticApprentice began pestering roboticEmber at 16:24--

  
[CA]:  >What<  
[CA]: >have<  
[CA]: >you<  
[CA]: >done???<  
[RE]: i punched it open and the light ghost thing popped out and i threw a mushroom at it. just in case it was hostile.  
[CA]: >Well..then.... Wow. I'm speechless. Thank goodness what you did seems to be actually part of progressing in the game. That thing is called a kernelsprite, and you just prototyped it.<  
[RE]: whatever that means.  
[CA]: >Just... go look at the other things I put downstairs.<  
[RE]: do these things have names  
[CA]: >Yes, the platform thing is called the Alchemiter, and the other is called the Totem Lathe.<  
[RE]: no i mean do they have names  
[CA]: >But I just..<  
[RE]: okay that thing that made the mushghost sprite-thing is now "the mother of all mushghosts" or mam for short  
[RE]: ill go look at the other things before i decide on names for them  
  
\--roboticEmber ceased pestering chaoticApprentice at 16:32--

  
**Connection lost. Relaying video feed.**  
  
You are still Zoey, still Rythian's apprentice, still a lover of all things, yadda yadda yadda. You are about to leave your room, when you notice an unnerving countdown on the side of the 'mother of all mushghosts'. It ticks down slowly, almost like a timer of doom. You decide to ignore it for the time being, as it's probably not anything serious. You head downstairs, where you are greeted by a large platform with a star on it, the "Alchemiter", and a strange machine almost remeniscent of a sewing machine, which you assume is the "Totem Lathe". You quickly rename the Totem Lathe to the "really-complicated-dont-touch-or-else-itll-explode-machine" or Dottie, for short. You quickly get yourself onto the platform of the Alchemiter, and stand there. Nothing happens. You had expected at the very least some lights, maybe a cool costume change or something, not the nothing you got. You get off, opting instead for a quick glance at the Don't-Touch-Or-Else-It'll-Explode-Machine, before turning away in fear that it will do as its name suggests.  
  
Your scouter beeps, as Nano begins pestering you again, telling you to put the orange cylinder that came out of the Cruxtruder (you remind her that it's now the Mother of All Mushghosts) onto the Alchemiter. You do so, and a short flash of light erupts from the platform, leaving a strange green cube-thing. You rename the Alchemiter to the Green Cube-Thing Maker, happy to finally give it a proper name. So now there's Mam, Dottie, and... GCT? Gct. Sure. That's not even a word, what are you saying? GC... GCAT. YES! Cats are good. Cats are.. cats! Yeah. Sure. The other machine is now Cat. Not a cat, just... Cat. Yeah. That's good.  
  
Nano pesters you, saying you need a carved totem. Whatever that is. She says you need more cruxite, which comes from the Cruxtruder. (you remind her AGAIN that its name is Mam) You walk back upstairs and turn the wheel of the "Cruxtruder". Another orange cylinder pops out, luckily not with enough force to dent your ceiling any more. You frown as you inspect its smooth surface. Maybe the carved ones are rarer? You turn the wheel again, prompting the machine to expel another cylinder. Confused with your failure to produce a carved cylinder, you turn the wheel again.  
And again.  
And again.  
  
You are still Zoeya Proasheck, and your room is full of cruxite cylinders. None of which are carved or even have the slightest of scratches. Teep has evacuated to your outside window, hiding on the balcony from the wave of heavy objects. You are being pestered by Nano. It's only now that she tells you that to make a carved cylinder you need to put the cruxite in the Totem Lathe (Dottie, you tell her) along with a "Pre-Punched Card".  
  
Well, it seems you've wasted so much time.  


**Connection closed, Mushnet Observations shutting down.**


	2. Countdown

You are now Xephos, and a meteor is headed straight for your current location. But you don't know that just yet. You currently reside in Yoglabs, and are fiddling away with the preparations for Sburb. From what information you gather, it's more than a game. To what extent, you aren't sure. But you are a bit wary of loading the file, finally loading it onto a spare laptop that isn't connected to the main network, but rather a spare connection built for personal use by employees and yourself. Not that anyone really uses it. They're too busy being doing ~~forced labor~~  their job for that.

You don't know that you're lucky to be one of the few who's technology and networks cannot be breached by Mushnet Observations and the fungi-obsessed hacker behind it.

You load up the Sburb client file, and begin pestering your server player. It was her idea to set up an order for who would help who, and you're stuck as her client and Honeydew's server. Not that you'd rather anyone else be the latter, oh no. But you've heard rumors about the former's mental state, and not good ones. But you've no reason to judge. After all, maybe she truly can hear the otherwise undetectable voices of mushrooms. If they truly do talk.

\--luminescentAstronaut began pestering roboticEmber at 16:56--

[LA]: **Zoey.  
[RE]: oh hi xeph  
[RE]: got sburb installed yet?  
[LA]: **Yes, that's why I contacted you.  
[RE]: okay well id be happy to start being your server player but there is one thing i have to deal with right now  
[LA]: **And that is?  
[RE]: well theres a meteor headed for my house so  
[LA]: **A meteor?  
[RE]: yeah i think it has to do with the game  
[RE]: or maybe its just a coincidence that i happened to be in the path of a meteor when i started up the game and im overthinking it  
[LA]: **Are you evacuating your house?  
[RE]: nope! im gonna stay here and play sburb. hopefully thatll save me  
[LA]: **For your safety, I'd suggest you leave, but if you insist on playing Sburb, I can't help but worry if it indeed is part of the game.  
[LA]: **I mean, meteors are serious stuff.  
[RE]: yeah well i survived three nukes so one little meteor is nothing  
[LA]: **You survived the explosion of three nukes?  
[RE]: yeah i was trying to defuse them but it didnt work out  
[LA]: **Might I ask why you were trying to defuse them in the first place?  
[RE]: no  
[LA]: **Oh, alright. Well, I'd appreciate it if you could hurry up with being my server player, I've little time, and if the world is potentially in a collision course with numerous meteors, I've got less than I originally anticipated.  
[RE]: whatever xeph, ive gotta go

\--roboticEmber ceased pestering luminescentAstronaut at 17:08--

Well, that went well. You are about to see what of the game you can play by yourself, when you are suddenly pestered.

\--roboticEmber FIFTY-TWO MINUTES FROM NOW began pestering luminescentAstronaut at 17:09--

[FRE]: xeph  
[LA]: **Zoey?  
[FRE]: i can be your server player now  
[LA]: **What? Don't you have a meteor to deal with?  
[FRE]: nah that was so thirty minutes ago  
[FRE]: im in the medium now! tee said so  
[LA]: **Isn't your dinosaur mute?  
[FRE]: not anymore, he's part mushroom now  
[LA]: **Uh..  
[FRE]: it doesnt matter, do you have the client file up?  
[LA]: **Yeah.  
[FRE]: i need your coordinates to do this, where are you?  
[LA]: **Why would you need my coordinates?  
[FRE]: oh wait i forgot, i already got those from future future lalna  
[LA]: **What? How did you.. how did he.. I'm so confused.  
[FRE]: doesnt matter, im deploying mam right now  
[LA]: **Mam?  
[FRE]: the cruxtruder  
[LA]: **What is a cruxtruder?  
[FRE]: go look, its just outside the room youre in

You walk out, leaving your laptop on the floor. A large machine blocks half the hallway as you turn. You rush back to your laptop for an explanation.

[FRE]: okay now youre gonna want to somehow pop the lid of that off, and take the cylinder that comes out and put it in this other machine im putting down along with this card-thing right next to you, and then we can really get you into safety  
[LA]: **What do you mean, safety?  
[FRE]: well considering theres a meteor headed towards you, you need to get out. but not like evacuating the location get out, more like transporting everything around you into another dimension get out  
[LA]: **Uh.. Alright?  
[FRE]: so after you carve the cylinder youre gonna want to put it on this OTHER machine  
[LA]: **Which machine is which?  
[FRE]: the first one is long, the second one is just a large platform thing  
[LA]: **Okay, are you sure this is how to play Sburb?  
[FRE]: of course im sure, im from the future and i escaped the meteor that was going to hit my house  
[LA]: **I'm going to disregard all common sense and trust you on this.  
[FRE]: thanks. not like im saving your life or anything.

You do as she said, snapping off the lid of the cruxtruder with a laser blast, and taking the deep blue cylinder that comes out to the longer machine. You swoop by your laptop to pick up the card. It's about the size of your face, and a lightweight material. Holes dot the surface, and you slide it into a slot on the machine. It whirs to life, a laser of its own beginning to carve the cylinder. Seeing as it'll take a while, you walk back over to your laptop to report back to your server player, whom you pray knows what she's doing somehow.

[LA]: **Since this might take a while, how long do you think there is until impact?  
[FRE]: the meteor? check the cruxtruder. there should be a countdown or something on it

You walk back over to the cruxtruder, and inspect it. You see a timer on one side, counting down. As you stare at it, the timer passes 10:12, a number of no importance to anyone. You walk back to your laptop, observing that the cylinder is halfway done being carved.

[LA]: **While we're waiting, might I ask something?  
[FRE]: sure  
[LA]: **Why did you go with the chumhandle roboticEmber? Last time I checked, mushrooms were a very large influence in your life. I would have thought you'd choose something related to those.  
[FRE]: oh they still are, its just that fungalPyromancer and everything like it was taken. they were probably taken by some other alternate-universe mes, since pesterchum seems to have a way of transcending the limits of dimensions and universes and time and such  
[LA]: **I.. see..

The machine behind you beeps, signaling that the totem is done being carved. You go over and retrieve it, moving it to the large machine on the other side of the room. You feel glad you decided to play in such an empty area, or else there was no telling what the fungalmancer would have done to make space. You click it into place, and it whirs to life. A small blue beehive appears on the platform, glowing gently.

[LA]: **What now?  
[FRE]: you smash it  
[LA]: **What?  
[FRE]: but first you need to throw something into the light ball that came out with the cylinder from the cruxtruder  
[FRE]: its floating near it  
[LA]: **What do I throw into it?  
[FRE]: anything, i dont think it matters  
[LA]: **Alright. If you're sure.

You walk over to the blue sphere, and casually toss one of your many torches into it. You'll regret this later, when everything's on fire. But for now, you turn back to the task at hand; smashing the beehive.


	3. Prototyping

You are now Rythian Enderborn.  
  
**Loading Mushnet Observations...**  
  
**Connection established. Relaying video feed.**  
  
**2 living beings detected. Scan? Y/N**  
  
  
**Scanning "Being 1"...**  
  
**Subject Name: Rythian Enderborn**  
**Species: Unspecified/Unknown/Humanoid**  
**Description: Master mage/alchemist, Rythian is a man with a slight issue with holding grudges. Also has a strange connection with the End and its creatures, however it is unknown to what extent. Currently residing in a newly rebuilt form of Blackrock Stronghold.**  
  
**Scanning "Being 2"...**  
  
**Error. Unidentified subject.**  
**Species: Dragon**  
  
**Internet communications detected. Track? Y/N**  
**Tracking...**  
**Relaying messages...**  
  
  
\--roboticEmber began pestering secretiveVoid at 17:34--  
  
[RE]: rythian  
[RE]: rythian i may have  
[RE]: i might have  
[RE]: i maybe  
[SV]: What, Zoey?  
[RE]: i maybe protoyped our dinosaur  
[SV]: You what?  
[RE]: yup im sorry but our dinosaur is now half mushroom and half game construct  
[RE]: i mean a third mushroom and a third game construct and a third dinosaur you get what im saying  
[SV]: I don't understand, how did this happen?  
[RE]: anyways ive gotta go bye!  
[SV]: Wait, Zoey!  
  
\--roboticEmber stopped pestering secretiveVoid at 17:42--  
  
**Connection lost. Relaying video feed.**  
  
Dear lord. You have no idea what she's done, but you can't help but feel exhausted just from the conversation. You are Rythian Enderborn, as stated previously. You are playing a game called Sburb. From what Zoey's told you, apparently you're the client player for Lomadia, and the server player for Lalna. The whole concept of a chain of players seems a bit unnecessary in your opinion. The entire game itself seems strange, affecting the real world rather than a virtual one.  
So far, Lomadia's deployed a "cruxtruder", a "totem lathe", an "alchemiter", and a "pre-punched card". Or at least, that's what she says the odd machines are. As per her instructions that she relayed from a walkthrough that so convinently happened to be with her copy of the game, you have opened the cruxtruder and carved the cylinder that came out of it. You switch back to the conversation with the owl lover, and check to see what you are to do next.  
  
**Relaying messages...**  
  
[NF]: So it seems the next step is to prototype the sprite. Whatever the hell that means. It says to throw something of value into the big glowing ball of light.  
[SV]: Sounds simple enough.  
  
**Relaying video feed.**  
  
You look around for something you can throw into the sphere. You try a couple objects, but find they bounce off instead of whatever they're supposed to do. Lomadia begins messaging you again, the beeps of new sentences almost frantic in their speed. You are about to check what all the fuss is about, when a tremor shakes the ground. The sound of crumbling walls and claws against stone is deafening.  
  
**Relaying messages...**  
  
[NF]: Rythian, I've spotted something outside your house. I don't know what it is, but it looks big.  
[NF]: Oh my god it's a fucking dragon.  
{NF]: Run!  
[NF]: No, don't check my messages you idiot!  
[NF]: Oh fuck.  
  
**Relaying video feed.**  
  
  
The huge figure of the Enderdragon bares down on you, as you scramble for a weapon. You weren't prepared, you should have been aware, you shouldn't have been distracted-  
  
A flash of light fills the room with purple, and you wish you hadn't agreed to playing this stupid game.  
  
  
**Relaying messages...**  
  
[NF]: What the fuck just happened?  
[NF]: Where did it go?  
[NF]: Rythian, get up.  
[NF]: You're not dead. You cannot be dead.  
[NF]: The dragon is GONE. Get up.  
[NF]: Please, Rythian, we're running out of time.  
  
**Scanning...**  
  
  
**1 living being detected.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short chapter, but trust me, there shouldn't be too many like this.  
> Also, I threw in Rythian deciding to rebuild Blackrock because  
> 1\. everyone needs a house or base in sburb  
> 2\. blackrockkk
> 
> Criticism is appreciated, I'd love any tips on how I can improve my writing!


	4. Collision Imminent

You are now Lalna Coffee.  
  
**Loading Mushnet Observations...**  
**Connection established. Relaying video feed.**  
**1 living being detected. Scan? Y/N**  
  
**Scanning "Being 1"...**  
  
**Subject Name: Lalna "Duncan" Coffee - Flux Buddies Clone**  
**Species: Human - Partially fluxed**  
**Description: Possibly mad scientist, Lalna is mostly friendly but doesn't seem to have any care for others, save for his partner and apprentice Nanosounds. Currently residing in the remains of his old castle. Dangerous levels of flux in area, do not approach without proper protection.**  
  
Well, this is great. You were in the middle of researching/cleaning/messing with the flux that has spread across the ruins of your old lab, when you were invited to play a game. You were initially torn, unsure if you had time to spend having fun rather than doing what needed to be done, but you decided you had done enough for the day. You deserved a break, and besides, it wasn't like if you left the flux alone it would get worse. Of course not.  
  
You were so wrong. Taint vines are crawling up the machines that Rythian hurriedly deployed in your makeshift base, and monsters are swarming the lower floors. You don't even have time to listen to his whole "I told you so" rant, as you've just spotted the dot in the sky, slowly growing larger.  
It's a meteor. You are screwed. You feel dizzy, after viewing your oncoming doom. Or maybe it's just the dangerous levels of flux that have fully engulfed your castle. Why did you want to save a hunk of stone, anyways? It wasn't as if you couldn't have built a new one. In fact, that would have been easier. Much easier than dying, at least. You assume you're going to die. Just from trying to play a game.  
  
Great.  
  
**Error. Cannot locate subject. Moving to similar subject.**  
  
You are now Duncan Coffee.  
  
**Connection established. Relaying video feed.**  
**1 living being detected. Scan? Y/N**  
  
**Scanning "Being 1"...**  
  
**Subject Name: Duncan "Lalna" Coffee - Magic Police Clone**  
**Species: Human**  
**Description: Working alongside Sjin to police the magic users of the area, this version of the scientist seems to have a much darker personality, especially when observed using blood magic. Currently residing at abandoned Magic Police headquarters. Unknown if he retains memories from his time with Sjin, avoid if possible.**  
  
You are Duncan.  
  
Life had gotten pretty boring. You weren't sure why, but everything seemed ever so slightly duller nowadays. Dabbling in various magics had lost its allure, and everything else was the same. So, when Sjin passed word of a game they were all to play, you were excited to bits. Until you realized what that implied. You would have to work together with the others. All of the others. It made you a little sick, thinking about working alongside people like Nano, the fluxed witch she was. You shiver at the memory of her, angry with your actions, threatening you with her bazooka. You prayed she wouldn't be like that again.  
  
Sjin had set up some machines, responding to your worries by saying how great of an opportunity it was to take out all the criminals. Not that they actually were doing much of anything, though. But you agreed that it would be nice to revive the old conflicts. Everything seemed more interesting, more exciting, and just overall better. Together you worked to progress, getting through the early objectives of the game with ease. When given the task of prototyping the sprite, you decided on your beloved Clucky, not knowing how potentially dangerous your actions really were.  
  
While communicating with Sjin through Pesterchum, you noticed that sometimes, you'd lose connection, and a message would come up, saying your chumhandle was already in use. It was annoying, and fairly obnoxious, having to refresh your connection constantly to keep talking. You weren't sure why it did that, but you didn't really care. A little inconvenience wasn't much. Everything else was going along fine.  
  
Then you saw the meteor.  
  
You panicked at first, before Sjin reassured you that it was part of the game and the next task was to simply escape it. So, through the pre-punched card, you alchemized a small lime green cat. It stared up at you with empty eyes, seeming to spark with raw magic as it flicked its tail back and forth. You unsheathed a dagger of sacrifice, sure of what you needed to do. But the kitten was having none of it. It leaped past you, breaking into a run. You chased it for a while, as you felt your time slowly ticking down.  
  
Finally, you corner it. It almost trembles in your shadow, and for a second, your mind registers it as a living thing. But it's not. It's just a part of the game, you tell yourself. It'll make no difference to it if it lives or dies. It can't feel pain, you convince yourself. It won't feel anything. You stab at it, but the blade bounces harmlessly off. You try other ways to destroy the cat, forgetting why you needed to in the first place. It is making you angry, and you almost give up in favor of finding a different solution.  
  
Luckily, or at least, so you think, the fake cat burns easily in lava. Your surroundings shift, and you hear the explosion of the meteor against the ground.  
But it seems you've survived. Somehow.

  
**Error. Cannot locate subject. Moving to similar subject.**  
  
You are once again Lalna Coffee.  
  
**Connection established. Relaying video feed.**  
**1 living being detected. Scan? Y/N**  
  
**Scanning "Being 1"...**  
**Identified: Lalna "Duncan" Coffee**  
  
You are Lalna, and you've survived. Somehow, you escaped the meteor, escaped the flux. But how? Your memory is a foggy haze back until you were staring at the meteor. You can't remember what you did, or how you did it, or even if it was you that saved yourself. You are still in your ruined castle, but the flux seems to have retreated, leaving the stone bricks cracked and crumbling, but otherwise normal. After a quick search of the other floors, you come to the conclusion that whatever happened that you can't remember removed all the flux. How convenient.  
  
You realize you should probably ask Rythian what happened. As your server player, he was watching the scene, wasn't he? You pull up Pesterchum, but fail to log in, an error popping up. Apparently your chumhandle is already in use. How annoying. You give up on contacting Rythian, not wanting to go to the effort to make a new chumhandle. It would be easy, but you really don't mind not having to talk to the mage. Despite everything, you can't help but at the very least dislike him and everything he is.  
  
You decide to explore your new surroundings. Might as well make use of the silence while you can.

 

**Connection closed, Mushnet Observations shutting down.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> clones though


	5. Medium

**CURRENT chaoticApprentice [CCA] RIGHT NOW opened memo on board Who made it in?.**  
  
[CCA]:  >Hello?<  
  
**CURRENT roboticEmber [CRE] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.**  
  
[CRE]: im alive!  
[CCA]:  >Oh, that's good. Do you know about anyone else?<  
[CRE]: xephos, im sure, lemme check my servers for how many player links are up, brb!  
  
**CURRENT loyalCultivator [CLC] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.**  
  
[CLC]: I'm in!  
[CCA]:  >Oh, hey Sjin.<  
[CJC]: You don't seem pleased to see me...  
[CCA]: >Well, all things considered...<  
  
**CURRENT nocturalFlight [CNF] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.**  
  
[CNF]: I'm okay, and so is Rythian and Nilesy.  
[CCA]:  >Well, I think Lalna's alright, but he doesn't seem to be able to get into Pesterchum. He's been having trouble with it recently, not sure why...<  
  
**CURRENT scientificSanity [CSS] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.**  
  
[CSS]: I'm alive and well*  
  
**FUTURE chaoticApprentice [FCA] THREE DAYS FROM NOW responded to memo.**  
  
[FCA]:  >Get out.<  
  
**FCA banned CSS from responding to memo.**  
**FCA banned herself from responding to memo.**  
  
[CJC]: Uh.  
[CNF]: Well then.  
[CRE]: im back, and i have some bad news...  
[CNF]: Bad news?  
[CRE]: im afraid only ten of us made it into the game  
[CRE]: and there's only two people unaccounted for right now  
[CJC]: What? You've got to be joking.  
[CRE]: im not, we're most of who made it out :(  
[CNF]: Who are the other two?  
[CJC]: One of them has to be Sips. Surely he'd make it.  
[CCA]:  >Wasn't Hat Flims supposed to be his server players? Did they make it in?<  
[CNF]: Only if whatever Zoeya's using to calculate the players counts them as one.  
[CRE]: it wouldnt  
[CRE]: i tried breaking into the network that the two others seem to share, but its unhackable. i cant contact them, whoever they are  
[CRE]: it doesnt seem to be anyone we know, either, sorry to disappoint you all  
[CCA]: >So that means, those who made it in are only us in the memo, Rythian, Lalna, Xephos, and Nilesy?<  
[CRE]: yeah, everyone else probably got exploded from the meteors  
[CJC]: No!  
[CNF]: Surely some could have escaped? Maybe into a different session?  
[CRE]: i suppose its possible, but..  
[CRE]: even if they did escape, we'll more likely than not never see them as long as we live, but hey, at least they're probably alive somewhere!  
[CCA]: >Zoey, not helpful!<  
[CRE]: what, im just saying theyre maybe possibly alive somewhere in this game  
[CCA]: >As much as it may hurt to accept, we're the only ones left. We've gotta keep moving forwards.<  
[CCA]: >Good luck, I guess.<  
[CJC]: Easy for you to say to keep moving, you didn't lose anybody!  
[CCA]: >W-well..<

**CCA closed memo.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chumhandles in case things are a bit confusing concerning who's who
> 
> roboticEmber [RE] - Zoeya  
> chaoticApprentice [CA] - Nano  
> secretiveVoid [SV] - Rythian  
> loyalCultivator [LC] - Sjin  
> nocturnalFlight [NF] - Lomadia  
> scientificSanity [SS] - Lalna/Duncan  
> luminescentAstronaut [LA] - Xephos  
> meowingAquatic [MA] - Nilesy (he'll show up soon, don't worry!)
> 
> plus two others... *changes character tags and hopes no one notices*  
> 


	6. Doubled

**Loading Mushnet Observations...**  
  
**Connection established. Relaying video feed.**  
**2 living beings detected. Scan? Y/N**  
  
**Scanning "Being 1"...**  
**Identified: Lalna "Duncan" Coffee**  
  
**Scanning "Being 2"...**  
**Identified: Duncan "Lalna" Coffee**  
  
**Warning: Subjects are in close proximity to each other.**  
  
**Relaying video feed of subject "Lalna".**  
  
  
_Land of Wires and Radioactivity_

  
  
You walk, your shoes leaving slight imprints in the dust that surrounded your home. An almost poisonous scent fills the air, vile and merciless. You  felt like you were choking on it at first, but as with everything; it wasn't killing you, so you got used to it in time. Everything in this weird place felt charged with energy, trying its hardest to escape into whatever wasn't occupied. The air crackled occasionally, and storm clouds covered the sky. Every so often, a bolt of lightning would tear down from the heavens and strike the ground far off in the distance. Sometimes, however, the bolt would seem to jump from the ground into the sky, a sharp crack in the otherwise silent atmosphere.  
  
Despite the absence of flux on your castle, your skin is still stained purple. You think back to when you first found the traces of the taint on your skin, the faint lavender tint to your fingertips. Since then, it's spread up from your back and your hands. It wasn't by any means as bad as Nano's, though. As your mind begins to wander, you can't help but wonder who made it into the game, who survived the onslaught of meteors that was raining down on your poor little world. You'd been in this strange area for almost an hour, it seemed. You really weren't sure where you were, but it sure as hell wasn't anywhere you knew before. The whole place reeked of an otherworldly strangeness, and you couldn't tell if the low hum in the back of your head was a product of madness or actually the ground below you.  
  
You've only walked a few feet away from the unfluxed towers, so you hear the beeping of your computer through the open air, a slight disturbance in the shiveringly silent realm. Rushing back to inspect, you see that you've been disconnected from Pesterchum again. You were talking to Nano earlier, and according to her, you had replied to a memo earlier saying you were alive and fine. You never did that, though. At least, not that you can remember. You came to the conclusion that someone had potentially stolen your chumhandle, and decided to find out the next time they struck.  
  
Best you get to doing that, then. You make another chumhandle, not caring to make it much different from your original, and pester "yourself".

  
  
\-- scientificSanityL began pestering scientificSanity at 18:57 --  
  
[SL]: Okay, who are you, and why the hell are you using my account?  
[SS]: Your account? This is my account*  
[SL]: Uh, no, it's not. Since when were YOU me?  
[SS]: Depends, who are you?  
[SL]: I should be asking you the same thing.  
[SS]: You're the one who started this*  
[SL]: Fine, I'm Lalna. Lalna Coffee.  
[SS]: No, you're not* You can't be* You're lying, because I'm Lalna* Although, I tend to go by Duncan, but that's not the point here*  
[SS]: Sadly, I don't think the Magic Police can arrest people just for attempted identity theft*  
[SL]: Oh shit, you're the Magic Police me?  
[SS]: Are you Nano's little doppelganger me?  
[SL]: Yes!  
[SL]: I mean, no, I'm not a doppelganger. I'm just ME.  
[SS]: Whoever that is*  
[SL]: Are you playing Sburb?  
[SS]: Of course I am, are you?  
[SL]: Yeah, so we may want to make seperate chumhandles. To make sure no one else gets confused.  
[SS]: That sounds reasonable, I wouldn't want Nano mistaking me for her fuck buddy*  
[SL]: Seriously, you're gonna go with that? Not very original, if you ask me.  
[SS]: Well I wasn't asking you, you fluxed freak*  
[SL]: Nice to see we'll be enemies, then. Jeez.  
[SS]: Don't think that this game is going to change anything*  
[SS]: I will find you, and I will have no mercy in locking you away*  
[SL]: Sure you will. Have fun with that.  
  
\-- scientificSanityL ceased pestering scientificSanity at 19:03 --

  
Not even an hour into this game, and you've got more enemies. Great.  


  
**Relaying video feed of subject "Duncan".**  
  
_Land of Wires and Radioactivity_

 

  
Well, that was an experience. You aren't particularly happy with the fact that there's another you out there, somewhere. The whole idea of someone who is you, but at the same time is completely different, is almost sickening to imagine. You remember when you and Sjin first saw the strange copy, working with Nano of all people. You don't want to encounter either of them again, but it's not because you're afraid. Of course not.  
  
A rustling behind you makes you turn, and you are greeted by a glowing lime-green figure. It hovers in the air, staring at you with obvious contempt. It looks kind of like you, but with the exception of no legs and the fact that it has feathered wings.  
  
"Who.." You start, but you can't finish your question.  
  
"The name's Lalnable, I think. Whatever the hell the other you did to me, I don't like it. Makes me feel like I have to help you two cluckers." He frowns at you, crossing his arms.  
  
"Cluckers?" You ask, confused.  
  
"I meant cluckers- shit, your stupid chicken is making me unable to swear."  
  
"Clucky?"  
  
"Yes, you idiot."  
  
"Who are you anyways?"  
  
"I already told you; I am, or was, Lalnable Hector. Scientist of Yoglabs as well as a genius in my own right."  
  
"Why do you look like me, then?"  
  
"Because I AM you." He huffed, before muttering to himself. "You'd think the concept of clones would be normal by now, all things considered."  
  
"Why are you green, glowing, and, well, not human?"  
  
"Because," He began, "your little buddy of a clone over on the other side of this god-forsaken planet decided to push me into his kernelsprite. Combined with your little chicken crush, I'm anything but who I used to be. Now I'm stuck as the guide for two versions of me that couldn't be more stupid."  
  
"Rude."  
  
"As if I care what you think." The both of you sit in silence for a minute, each of you two staring the other down. You finally break his gaze, snickering to yourself as you come up with something simply brilliant. "What are you laughing about?"  
  
"So," You start, chuckling at your own joke, "if you're combined with Clucky, would that make you Clucknable?" He doesn't seem to find it the slightest bit amusing, and glares at you.  
  
"Cluck you."

 

  
  
**Relaying video feed of subject "Lalna".**

  
  
Since you've no more problems with your chumhandle, you decide to confront Rythian about the events of your entry into the game.  
  
\-- scientificSanityL began pestering secretiveVoid at 19:10 --  
  
[SL]: Rythian? It's Lalna, I had to get a new chumhandle.  
[SV]: What happened with your old one?  
[SL]: The Magic Police me got ahold of it, but he'll be making a new one as well. Calls himself Duncan, funnily enough.  
[SV]: So... there's two of you?  
[SL]: Technically, yes.  
[SV]: Great. I don't know if you can read the sarcasm in that last part, but I had a tough time getting to tolerate one of you.  
[SL]: Aw, but we're on okay terms now, right?  
[SV]: I suppose so, and it's good that you aren't the version trying to hunt me and others down because of so called "laws" that they made up.  
[SL]: He's trying to catch ME, too. Hopefully this game will distract everyone.  
[SV]: Seems it already has.  
[SL]: What do you mean?  
[SV]: Forget it.  
[SL]: Well, I actually have been meaning to ask you something.  
[SV]: And that is?  
[SL]: How'd I enter the game? I don't remember anything past panicking about the meteor.  
[SV]: How can you not remember?  
[SL]: Just tell me.  
[SV]: Well, after getting over your little panic, you started working really fast to get through. I don't remember if you prototyped anything, though, so that may be a problem. The kernelsprite kinda followed you down into the lower floors, into the basement or something, and I couldn't follow.  
[SL]: What happened after?  
[SV]: Well, you came back up, but the sprite wasn't with you. You alchemized your entry item, and it was a small green cat. It wasn't alive, thankfully, just a statue. I hope. Considering what you did to it.  
[SL]: What'd I do?  
[SV]: You threw it in a pool of lava. I think you were crying as you did, though. Have any bad experiences with cats and lava before?  
[SL]: Ask Nano about Tiddles 1 and Tiddles 2. She'll blame it all on me, even though it really wasn't MY fault.  
[SV]: Oh, I'd love to hear your take on the events first.  
[SL]: Okay, well, I ACCIDENTALLY dumped lava on the first, and we were trying to lead the second to our new base when she (the cat) JUST SO HAPPENED to fall into lava ALL BY HERSELF. I was just standing there.  
[SV]: Suuure. I'll go tell Nilesy about your cat-burning antics, then.  
[SL]: It wasn't MY FAULT, though!  
[SV]: I'm just messing with you, Lalna.  
[SL]: Oh, thank goodness.  
[SV]: Though, it is good blackmail material, just in case...  
[SL]: You're an asshole, you know that?  
[SV]: Only to those who are but the same.  
  
\-- scientificSanityL ceased pestering secretiveVoid at 19:21 --

  
  
Well, you've solved one mystery. Kind of.  
  
  
**Connection closed, Mushnet Observations shutting down.**  



	7. Freefall

**Loading Mushnet Observations...**  
**Connection established. Relaying video feed.**

  
**1 living being detected. Scan? Y/N**  
  
**Scanning "Being 1"...**  
**Subject Name: Lomadia**  
**Species: Human**  
**Description: Owl lover and total badass, Lomadia resides on Owl Island with her many, many feathered friends. Partners with Nilesy, has been seen with Xephos, but extent of relationship is unknown (to past me, at least!). Pretty awesome person, keep on good terms because she is scary when angry. Lalna said so, and he doesn't lie about his fears. Usually. (Then again, should he be trusted? The whole nuke thing and all, I mean...)**  
  
_Land of Curses and Clouds_

  
  
You are now Lomadia. As for where you are, you aren't 100% sure, but your sprite, unable to decide whether it wants to be loyal to you or fly off to who knows where, decided to tell you that you currently were on the planet LOCAC, or the Land of Curses and Clouds. Not like that helped matters any. You kind of regret prototyping _both_ of your owl familiars, Hoot and Athena, as the combination isn't very good for either of them. From what you could see, the little of what was salvaged from the site of your home was on an island of sorts. You would peer over the edge occasionally, seeing only a vast expanse of white clouds. Annoyed with the lack of productivity going on, you pester Nilesy.

  
  
\-- nocturnalFlight began pestering meowingAquatic at 20:32 --  
  
[NF]: Hey Nilesy.  
[MA]: Hi Lom, what's up? :3  
[NF]: Well, my server player's doing bugger all, so I'm stuck on my little island. How's your game going?  
[MA]: Amazingly, actually! I've got a cat. That is telling me how to win this game. :3  
[NF]: Really. Is it your sprite?  
[MA]: Nooo, Lomadia. While my sprite is a cat, the cat is not my sprite. :3  
[NF]: Then... how is it talking?  
[MA]: It is talking to me... IN MY MIND. :3  
[NF]: So what you're saying is that you've gone mad.  
[MA]: No, you see, it's a part of the game! It says it came from a different session, one where there were a lot of cats! It also says its name is Mutie or somethin', it's pretty cool! :3  
[NF]: So.. this cat from a different session... is speaking to you through telepathy... and telling you how to win the game.  
[MA]: Uh, yeah. That's what I just said, Lom. Jeez, pay attention! :3  
[NF]: Alright then.

  
  
You are about to continue this ridiculous conversation, when you are suddenly pestered by someone else.  
  
  
\-- scientificSanityD began pestering nocturnalFlight at 20:38 --  
  
[SD]: Sorry about the delay, I was a bit busy.  
[SD]: I've got something cool set up outside, care to take a peek?  
  
You march outside, but don't see anything different.  
  
[NF]: Alright, what is it?  
[SD]: Just wait where you are, I'll show you!

  
  
Awaiting whatever it is he wants to show you, you take the moment to stare up at the sky. There are no stars, only the void of space. Far off, you can glimpse the neighboring planets, one looking very christmas-themed, a splotch of green and red, and the other blending in mostly with the darkness around it, a cold black sphere in the sky. You make a quick guess as to who occupies each of the planets, but cannot really register it in your mind before you suddenly feel like you are falling, the ground below you having vanished.  
  
Because you are.  
  
You are falling, breaking through the clouds in a cold rush of moisture, down into a forest of impossibly tall trees. You are descending towards the canopy at a fast acceleration, unable to scream as your voice is held back by the harsh winds combating your fall. You break into the canopy, branches and leaves whipping painfully at your body as you fall through the dense forest. Unfortunately, they aren't slowing your fall enough. The ground seems to rush up to meet you, but it happens all at an unimaginably slow pace. You are going to die, you finally realize, as you feel your body collide with the dirt, hear the snap of your bones, but do not feel pain. Everything seems to be at a strange peace, and then there is only darkness.  
  
  
**Error. No living beings detected. Shutting down.**  
  
  
You wake up in a purple tower, sitting up in a bed as if waking from a nightmare.  
  
What the hell just happened?  
  
Unable to process what you just experienced, you decide to explore your new surroundings. As you get out of bed, you see you are wearing what can only be described as gaudy lavender pajamas. A crescent moon is displayed on the front, a deeper purple than the rest. They are soft, but not too much that they aren't comfy. As you stride out of your small room, you almost trip out of the tower, barely missing the absence of ground in front of you. You shiver, remembering what occurred the last time you were falling. However, something about this place seems... safer, to say the least.  
  
You take a small hop into the air, right where you stand, and are pleasantly surprised to start hovering. Willing yourself forwards, you drift out of your tower. All seems well, and you float far above the purple spires of this strange new planet. If it is a planet. Something in the back of your mind, a strange feeling that you began having once you entered the game, tells you that it is actually a moon of sorts.  
  
As you gaze around your surroundings, you see five other towers, like your own, not too far off in the distance. You fly over to one, and peek inside. In the other tower is another bedroom, with a sleeping girl that you've never seen before. Her brown hair is curly, draping over her shoulders as she is face-down on the bed. She is wearing similar purple pajamas to yours, with the only difference being the shades of purple used. You decide to leave this strange character alone, and head towards another tower. Inside, you see the sleeping form of another girl you don't recognize, with short blonde hair splayed around her head like a frame. You sigh, turning to the next tower. Is your session filled with strangers?  
  
That thought is forgotten, as you spot Nano in one tower, her skin surprisingly not matching the decor around her. Taking a quick look in the next, you see Rythian, still managing to be wearing a mask despite the strange otherworldly moon-planet giving all of its residents (that you've seen) only purple pajamas, and nothing else that they may have had originally. Wherever you are, it sure has a weird feeling to it. Almost ominous, but still managing to feel safe and secure despite that. You glance over at the last tower, and can make out Nilesy, curled up in a cat-themed room. How the game managed that, you have no idea.  
  
You can't help but feel lonely. Everyone else is asleep, and you can't seem to wake them. They're alive, but not here. That brings you back to the matter of your current state. Did you die? And if so, why did you end up here? Is this some sort of game-created afterlife? And if that is the case, why are there only six of you set up here?  
  
So many questions, so little time.


	8. Aftermath

**Loading Mushnet Observations...**

  
**Connection established. Relaying video feed.**  
 **1 living being detected. Scan? Y/N**  
  
 **Scanning "Being 1"...**  
 **Identified: Duncan "Lalna" Coffee**  
  
  
You are Duncan, and you may have just accidentally killed your client player.   
Well, shit.  
Frantic, you pester Sjin for advice.

  
  
\--scientificSanityD began pestering loyalCultivator at 20:42--  
  
[SD]: Sjin, I fucked up!  
[LC]: What'd you do?  
[SD]: I may have accidentally killed Lomadia! And she's not coming back! Help!  
[LC]: How the hell did you manage that?  
[SD]: I was just going to mess with her a bit, make the ground under her into a pitfall, but her land's a bloody island in the sky!  
[LC]: How did you not see that?  
[SD]: The game didn't say, besides, there were lots of clouds in the way!  
[LC]: So you assumed that the clouds were just part of her land?  
[SD]: Well, yeah! And pieces of land don't have to be sky islands to be up in the clouds, there are such things as MOUNTAINS, Sjin*  
[LC]: Yeah, well, you're gonna have to explain to everyone how you killed our co-player. Good luck with that. I'm off to NOT kill my fellow players, and you should be happy about that, considering I'm your server.  
  
\--loyalCultivator ceased pestering scientificSanity at 20:50--

  
  
That was no help, but you suppose he's right. You've got to break the news to everyone that you're an utter idiot and jerk. And that you killed Lomadia. You decide to get the worst over with, and pester Xephos. You haven't heard from him in a while, since you all entered the game, so you regret the fact that your interaction won't be a friendly one.

* * *

  
\--scientificSanityD began pestering luminescentAstronaut at 20:53--  
  
[SD]: Uh, Xeph?  
[LA]: **Duncan. What's up?  
[SD]: I have some bad news* You may want to sit down for this*  
[LA]: **Can't sit, busy. What's the news?  
[SD]: Uh,  
[SD]: well,  
[SD]: I may have  
[SD]: accidentally  
[SD]: not on purpose  
[SD]: never meant to so it's not really my fault  
[LA]: **Spit it out, what'd you do?  
[SD]: caused Lomadia's death*  
[LA]: ...  
[SD]: I'm so sorry*  
[LA]: **No, it's...  
[LA]: **It was going to happen at some point or another, anyways.  
[LA]: **Didn't expect it would be so soon, but..  
[SD]: So, you're not angry?  
[LA]: **Why should I be angry over mistakes?  
[SD]: I am really sorry*  
[LA]: **I don't need your apologies. I mean, honestly, I guess I should be happy more of us haven't died.  
[SD]: What do you mean?  
[LA]: **Just forget it. I'll talk to you later. Alright?  
[SD]: Uh, okay*  
  
\--scientificSanityD ceased pestering lumiescentAstronaut at 21:07--

  
  
You are now Xephos.  
  
So, Lomadia's dead. Or rather, the last clone of Lomadia is dead.   
You don't grieve, you expected this outcome. All you need to do to get her back is to win the game, and fix the world. Fix whatever of Yoglabs didn't make it in, and get the master clones up and running again. The world hasn't ended, you know this. It just can't have ended, not with so many others left on its surface. As for the clones you are now playing this game with, they could die. It wouldn't really matter in the long run, as you know how to fix everything.  
  
From what you've gathered on your objective, there is a war going on for a planet called Skaia. So, the solution is simple enough, stop the war or make the "good guys" win, and all will be fixed. It's almost funny, how simple this game is turning out to be. So you do not grieve. For all you know, that clone was flawed. Better off dead, in that case. You'll see the real her again, soon enough.

* * *

  
  
\--scientificSanityD began pestering meowingAquatic at 21:14--  
  
[SD]: Hey Nilesy*  
[MA]: Hi? Which one are you? :3  
[SD]: Which one of what?  
[MA]: Blond scientists. :3  
[SD]: Oh, the one who wanted you in jail*  
[MA]: Oh, ugh. :C  
[SD]: Don't worry, I've changed my views on magic and how it should be kept in check and it does not invlove you in magic lawbreaker prison*  
[MA]: Why were you after Lom and I anyways? What did we do? :?  
[SD]: Uh, speaking of Lomadia, I have some bad news*  
[MA]: What? What happened? :C  
[SD]: She's***   
[MA]: Replacing periods with asterisks does not work in this case, just so you know. :3  
[SD]: She's dead*  
[MA]: Wh-  
[MA]: What? :O  
[SD]: Yeah, I'm sorry*  
[MA]: You're her server player, how did... how did she..  
[SD]: I'm honestly not sure, one minute she was fine, the next she was sprawled out at the bottom of a cliff*  
[MA]: A-alright. :/  
[MA]: I'll be.. right back...  
  
\--meowingAquatic ceased pestering scientificSanityD at 21:30--

  
You are now Nilesy, and you are going to a cat for help on how to play a game in which one of your friends has just died playing.

  
You never imagined you'd be in this type of situation. Ever. Like, you imagined if one of you were to die, permanently, you never thought that it would be Lom. You also never thought you'd be able to telepathically communicate with a four eyed cat, yet here we are.  
You pace over to the small cat, and it blinks at you, having read your thoughts.

  
_"Cheer up, Niles! You can bring her back. Don't worry!" It whispers in your mind._

  
_"How?"_ You think back.

  
_"Well, I've not much expurrience on ressurection, but, I supurrs we could try something that helped everyone in my session be really amazing! Especially my owner, she had lots of fun. I think. I wasn't actually able to interact with her, being frozen solid and everything."_

  
_"So, what'd you do?"_

  
_"Well, her friend alchemized a mew things, I can't remember what she called them though. Something with an s? Ah well, I'm sure it's not impurrtant. I know the codes though!"_   
You walk over to the alchemiter, ready to input a code.

  
_"Okay, shoot."_

_"Capital u, r, o, b, another capurrtal U, r, o, s. That's it."_   
Inputing the code creates a green lollipop, as well as some weird probably game-construct thing.  
  
 _"And the next?"_  
  
 _"The same code, but with the opposite capital letters and stuff. Human words are weird."_  
You input the new code, uROBuROS, and it creates a red lolly, as well as another weird game-construct thing. Without warning, the two suckers jump together, fusing into one. You grab it, shooting a glance over at Mutini.  
  
" _How is a sucker supposed to help revive Lomadia?"_  
  
 _"Dunno. But it helped my owner out and made her really happy, so it can't be bad!"_  
  
 _"If you're sure..."_  
  
You cautiously examine the red and green swirly sucker, bringing it close to your face. You kind of want to lick it, despite the fact that it came from the game and likely tastes horrible but-  
  
 **ERROR. ERROR. MUSHBURY OBSERVATIONS REBOOTING.**

**ERROR. ERROR. SUBJECT NOT FOUND. LOCATION NOT FOUND.**

**ERROR. UNKNOWN BEING DETECTED IN VICINITY.**

**ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.**

* * *

  
You are now Zoeya Proasheck, and your spy network, both actual network and network of actual spies, has unexpectedly failed. You doubt you'll get it up and running again, but it's not a big deal. You don't need to spy on people to make sure they're not starting wars, because all of you who are left are playing this game.   
  
Besides, it's not as if anything bad happens in a game. It's all for fun!


End file.
